


Kitsune Hero

by SunflowerDrake



Category: Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Do not repost, Don't Like Don't Read, Don't copy to anoter site, Gen, Midoriya Izuku-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reincarnation, no memories of past life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29003892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunflowerDrake/pseuds/SunflowerDrake
Summary: Reincarnation is a thing. Apparently. Izuku still wasn’t sure he believed that. He had no memories of a past life, after all.What he did have was a sarcastic demon sealed inside him, that was supposedly not a Kitsune? Not a Kitsune like he knew, supposedly?At least now he had access to some kind of power that could pass as a quirk. He could be a hero now.Right?
Comments: 15
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own either franchise! I just came up with the idea for this fic.
> 
> This is a WIP, it has not been completed yet. There is also no set update schedule. I tend to flutter between different fics I am writing like a butterfly. So sometimes, there'll be multiple updates in a relatively short time, sometimes I take breaks and write for other fics. It's a sort of rotation thing. I usually can't guarantee when an updat will be posted. 
> 
> ...
> 
> Just to warn you.
> 
> Also, English is not my native language but this work has been checked by Kitsune, my awesome beta! Many thanks to you! Any writing errors you find are mine though, so sorry about those. I do try my best.

Some days were just crap. They could start that way, bad days, with him just knowing that particular day would be a day better spent in bed than out in the world.

It happened to Izuku more than he cared to admit. He was just… lucky like that.

School was important though. If he hoped to get into a good high school then he needed a good attendance record. Hero schools would frown upon regular skipping of lessons, even if Izuku had some of the best grades in his school. He didn’t want them to have any excuses to refuse him entry, beside his quirkless status, that is.

His mom also would have something to say about it, so skipping was not an option for him.

All he could hope for was that today wouldn’t be too bad. Fingers crossed.

He bumped into a hero fight on the way to school, made some new notes in his notebook, and he even saw a new hero debut! That wasn’t a bad start. Watching heroes at work was always a treat, and he got to see Mountain Lady’s debut!

Too bad his luck didn’t last.

The rest of the day turned out to be horrible. Not only did his teacher out his first choice of high school to the entire class (and brought down mocking laughter on him), it also brought him to Kacchan’s attention, and not in a good way.

Then again, getting attention from Kacchan was never good.

His friend was not pleased at all with him. He never was, to be honest, and Izuku had no idea what he had done wrong? Now or any time before.

Kacchan burned his notebook and threw it out of the window.

_“If you want a quirk that bad, pray you get one in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof.”_

Who said something like that?? This was actual suicide baiting! Or at least, it certainly looked like it?

Kacchan wanted to be a hero, but heroes were not supposed to act like this, right? Heroes saved people, fought bad people, and smiled. (Maybe he was thinking too much about All Might in particular, but surely this was true for other heroes as well??).

Why was Kacchan so mean to him? Izuku was not a bad person, right? He had never done anything outside of the rules or the laws. All Kacchan could hold against him was him being quirkless. But, while no one liked that and most people thought him a freak, that wasn’t actually against the law.

So no, Izuku wasn’t a bad person, wasn’t a villain, so Kacchan had no reason to hurt him and put him down like that. Right? He just didn’t get why his friend insisted on being mean to him.

So yeah, school had sucked, even more than usual.

He had picked up his drenched notebook on his way out and made his way home. He chose the path less walked, and avoided the main street. Mostly in hopes of avoiding Kacchan, he had seen enough of his friend for one day.

He’d been trying to cheer himself up as he walked under the bridge when the trains passed over.

“A nice sized body to hide in. Perfect!”

He whirled around at the sinister voice behind him. A grotesque being made of slime hovered over him, emerging from the sewer cover in the street.

It immediately enveloped him and tried to force its way into his mouth! Disgusting!

He struggled, eyes wide in fear, and tried to get loose. Izuku couldn't breathe.

A guy made of slime was trying to invade his body in such a wrong way that he cringed just thinking about it.

So, so wrong.

He clutched at the slime, trying to get it away, or get him away from it.

He wasn't picky, but it had to happen quickly.

Now preferably.

The lack of oxygen was doing strange things to his mind.

Huh.

He was starting to black out. His arms felt heavy, and finally, finally the panic broke through his strange thoughts.

He was going to die here. Right here, right now. In some shady alleyway on the way home from school.

Would anyone miss him? Did he have anyone in his life who would mourn him, except his mom?

No, not really?

Something snapped.

It surged forward from inside him with such force it hurt, hot and burning him from the inside out, and it was so overwhelming that he had to close his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, the pain was gone (as if it had never been there), as was the pressure of the slime trying to invade his body and he was in a completely different place. It looked kind of sketchy though, very dark with some unnatural red tones. There was quite a bit of water on the floor too, and it looked like he was in some strange sort of tunnel? Kind of like what he had seen sewers looked like on television.

And he was sitting in the water. Ew…

There was water soaking his pants and shoes.

His legs and feet didn’t feel wet though? That wasn’t normal, right? His uniform wasn’t waterproof, at all, even his shoes were only somewhat. He carefully puts his hand in the water, and back out. It didn’t feel like water? And his hand wasn’t wet?

What was going on? What was wrong with the water? And where was he? How did he get here? Did he somehow teleport? Did that slime guy drag him into the sewer, just to abandon him once they got there? That seemed unlikely, to be honest.

He should probably get up and see where he was, right? So he could figure out how to get out of here and go home?

It took him a second to actually get to his feet. His body ached, like when he was sore after a thorough beating from Kacchan.

He carefully walked down the strange passage towards where the reddish light seemed strongest. The passage ended abruptly and he peeked inside what looked like a wide open and dark space.

“You’ve taken your time getting here.” An imposing voice before him muttered.

Izuku’s eyes widened in surprise, not having expected that. Someone else was here? Who? And why did their voice sound so… strange? Was that a quirk at work? Because he could not say it sounded… Well, normal.

He didn’t immediately spot who it was. There was a huge gate though, with only darkness behind it. There was some sort of spiral lock on it, but the gate itself was very much closed. Was this a prison? A prison in the sewers?

What??

Huge eyes opened behind the bars and Izuku stumbled backwards in shock. Those eyes were gigantic! Bigger than he himself was. Huge, red, and with slitted pupils (much like an animal’s, but then a hundred times bigger!)

There was a loud chuckle and an even bigger row of very sharp teeth appeared to form a smile. Or something more like a smirk.

“Skittish, huh? Not what I was expecting.” The being before him said.

Yes, being, because this couldn’t be a human, right? Sure there were all kinds of quirks around, but this would be one hell of a mutation quirk!

“Wait. Y-you know m-me?” Izuku managed to say. “A-and you w-were expect-ting me?”

“Something like that. Reincarnation is strange. I had been warned. I know you, and at the same time not. It has been one hell of a nap, I can tell you that.” The being said with the same grin as before.

Those teeth really were scary!

“O-h? I am s-sorry. D-did I wake you?” Izuku wasn’t sure what was going on, so he defaulted to the usual: apologising.

The eyes narrowed at him.

Izuku squeaked.

“Hmm, a bunny rabbit. That is what you remind me of. Bit of a wimp too.” The voice said thoughtfully. “I’ll have to work on that.”

“Wait? What?” Work on what? Why? What did that mean?

“It is time for you to wake up though. That idiot will slap your face off if he continues like that.”

“Huh?” Izuku felt very confused by this all.

He was shoved by some unseen force and suddenly he was laying down. Someone was indeed slapping his face, rather enthusiastically even. His cheeks felt warm from the hits (and it honestly hurt quite a bit. How long and how hard was this person hitting him!?) and his whole body felt sore, just like before.

He blinked, made a strange sound, and the slapping stopped immediately.

“Hey! Thank goodness you are all right! You worried me there, Shounen!” A loud, and very familiar voice called out. “My apologies for getting you caught in my villain hunt! Even if it was a mistake on my part not to catch him earlier, you did help me out! Thanks to you burning him, it was really easy to apprehend the villain!”

ALL MIGHT?!

He’d listened to this voice for hours. Clearly something had been knocked loose in his head if it had taken him this long to recognize his idol!

Was that really All Might, standing before him? His favourite hero? In the flesh? All Might had saved him? In civilian clothing!?

He wasn’t dead?

Wait? What? Burning? What was his hero talking about?

“I’ve contained the villain and will now take him to the nearest police station!” All Might proudly held up a bottle filled with greenish slime and eyeballs (which looked disgusting!) (and the pose looked a lot as if All Might had just caught a Pokémon? You know, that iconic pose?). The hero put the villain/bottle in one of the pockets of his cargo pants.

Wait? How had he gotten that huge villain in a small bottle like that?? Where did the rest of him go?

“Here, this is yours!” The hero handed Izuku his notebook back.

Izuku clutched the notebook to his chest, scared of losing it again (that was the second time today he’d almost lost it!)

“You obviously are a bit of a hero fanboy, so I took the liberty of signing it!”

Izuku’s eyes almost popped out of his head. His throat made that strange noise again and he immediately leafed through the notebook to find the signature. Yes, there it was! A huge signature was added over his notes (making them practically unreadable), and Izuku had to fight not to squeal out loud. He had All Might’s signature!?

“Thank you so much!” Izuku said, bowing like crazy after he quickly got up. “I’ll treasure it forever!”

“Haha!” All Might laughed his famous laugh. “Try not to use your quirk like that again, young man. I’ll let you off with a warning this time!”

All Might started walking away.

“Wait!? What did you mean quirk?!” Izuku called after him in confusion.

“You were on fire when I got here, my boy.” The hero briefly turned back with a frown. “What other quirk could I possibly be talking about?”

**TBC.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explanations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has also been beta-ed by my good friend Kitsune. thank you for your swift and excellent work!

Izuku wasn’t sure how he got home that day. He got home though, and that was the most important part. He probably worried his mom but he couldn't recall.

He had a lot on his mind, alright?. Give him a break.

School had been bad enough. Between his teacher singling him out as a UA applicant, and Kacchan's reaction to it, and Kacchan telling him to jump off the roof and kill himself if he ever wanted to be a hero, he hadn't been in a good place walking home. (And what kind of hero hopeful said something like that!?)

Then he had been attacked, almost died, and met that strange being in the prison sewer (and he still had no idea what that was about? Where had he been? Had that been an hallucination due to lack of oxygen??). He had met All Might and for some reason the hero had believed he had a quirk?

Like, what? Why? How?

There were a few reports online about people getting their quirk late. Izuku had found them all years ago. He had clung to them. Desperately. Hoping beyond hope (beyond an extra bone in his toes), while everyone told him it was impossible.

None of them had the extra toe joint though. And none of them had gotten a quirk this late either. Worldwide the record holder was eight years old, for latest recorded quirk.

Izuku would be turning fourteen in a little while. That was way older than the record holding kid.

And if he somehow did get a quirk in some mysterious way, what was it? He hadn't seen anything that indicated he had one. All Might had mentioned burning?

Mom had shot him a worried look, like she did most days, but worse? She hadn’t said anything though, when he said he wasn’t hungry and locked himself in his room. He laid on his bed for hours, staring at the ceiling.

He spend hours agonizing over this, until his whirling thoughts couldn't keep the sleep away anymore.

He wasn't sure when exactly he dozed off in his bed but he woke up in the sewer-prison thing from before.

"You sure know how to think your way down the rabbit hole, kit. That is not helping me see you as anything but a squeaky bunny rabbit." the voice was back, with the huge eyes and teeth in the darkness. He still had no idea what the other looked like, but surely he couldn’t have the same hallucination twice, right? This was real?

“H-hi?" His voice was a lot higher than usual. He winced. He couldn’t really call the other out for calling him squeaky now, could he?

The creature sighed and shot him a strange look. "So, tell me, what's you name now?"

"Midoriya Izuku. A-and what do you mean, now? Did we know each other? B-before?" Izuku asked.

"Yes. We know each other now as well. At the core, you will always be you. No matter what life you live."

"What? I don't understand..."

"Sage, give me strength." The creature sighed again. "What do you know about reincarnation?"

Reincarnation?

"Not much? Isn't that a Buddhist thing? Or was that Indian? I'm not sure anymore. Indian is Hindu though. Either way, isn't reincarnation the idea that souls are sort of recycled after they die and are reborn again?"

“Reincarnation is the [philosophical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy) or [religious](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion) belief that the non-physical essence of a living [being](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being) starts a new [life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life) in a different physical form or [body](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_body) after biological [death](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death).” The voice said. “But what you said came close, I guess.”

"Alright. What does this have to do with anything though?”

Reincarnation wasn't real, right? Even in a world full of extraordinary quirks, reincarnation was just that step too far, right? Right?

"Urgh, and here I hoped the thinking was an indication you were smarter this time around. Listen up. You are a reborn soul. In another life, we knew each other."

"W-what does that mean exactly? I m-mean, I get what reincarnation is, but I don't know you. You think you know me, but how can we be sure you have the right person?"

“Yes. It is different for me. Biju die, but not like humans do. The soul of humans get reborn, again and again, as a blank slate. The same soul, but not completely the same person. When Biju die, they reform after a while. Whole again, as if they had never died in the first place. When my partner died, I died with him. We were close. Partners in way that only 8 others could ever come close to understanding, and most of them didn't. He freed me, and showed me compassion, camaraderie, true partnership, and to thank him, and because I am a selfish bastard, I bound myself to his soul." The creature looks Izuku in the eye, lowers his head so it was right before him, leaning on the ground.

"So, yes, I am sure I have the right person. Because I was promised it would be you. See this gate? It represents the seal that has bound me here since your soul was born in your last life. We went through a lot together, and I didn't like you for the longest time, but after all the hardship we faced, the Sage, my creator if you will, promised me I could stay with you."

"Why though?" Izuku asked curiously.

The being before him snorted "Because I asked him to, as I said. Do try to keep up. I extracted a promise from him, just before you died. I was not going to take no for an answer."

"I don't get that. Why bind yourself to anyone like that? What was so sp...? Why?" he couldn't actually make himself say it. What was so special about him that you would bind yourself like that?

"Because you are very special. I am special. I am an entity made out of chakra and emotion. A thinking entity - a Biju. What most call a monster, or a demon, depending. Not that the difference is that big. I was consumed by hatred for centuries and you managed to make me break free from that. You dragged me, with lots of noise and friendship speeches, and you made me your partner. You didn't treat me like a rabid dog that needed to be locked away for the rest of existence, like others had before. That is why. "

" Still... " Izuku said, trying to come to terms with what he heard.

"That is not me though. It can't have been. "

"You don't remember. And that is fine. That is the way it should be. You cannot remember. It is physically impossible for you to remember. I knew that. And that is fine." The being grinned again in that very unsettling way of his.

"Could it be undone?"

The eyes narrowed and the grin disappeared. "No, nor do I want it to."

Izuku gulps. "Wow, that is … a lot … to take in. Are you sure I'm the right person?" He can’t help but ask.

The creature snorts. "I'd recognize you anywhere. A soul that bright, one in thousands, millions even. Always seeing the good in people. Even when they don't deserve it. That is you. That will always be you. It's the reason you are mine." The creature smirks at him. "I had to wait centuries, but finally, your soul was reborn. So, yes, reincarnation. Yes, I am sure you are the right person. Oh, you'll never quite remember who you were back then, but your soul is the same. Even now, you are mine. My partner. Mine. And I will not stand to have you die, not after waiting for so long."

They stood in silence for a bit.

It was a lot to take in, and honestly Izuku didn’t really believe any of it? Come on, he was the quirkless cry baby! Everyone said so. So how could he be this clearly amazing person this being, Biju, had loved so much he had bound his own soul to?

Izuku didn't dare ask again, but he really didn't understand. "So, you are sealed… inside me?"

"To your soul, yes." What little he could see of the being before him seemed to soften a bit.

"And you are fine with that?" he couldn't help but ask again.

"Again, yes." The eyes narrowed again.

"All right. What does that mean? How does this change things, I mean?"

"Now? You'll have me judging your every action and the actions of those around you all day." The grin was back full force.

"Alright then. Wait...? What?"

"No time, someone is trying to wake you again. Best wake up now."

And Izuku promptly woke up. His mom was shaking him with a worried look on his face.

"Izuku, Thank goodness, you are alright. I couldn't seem to wake you up at all. Are you feeling alright?"

"Mom, I am fine. Guess I just slept really deep."

What a strange dream that had been...

'Not a dream.' the being said, like a little voice in his head.

Izuku startled so badly he spooked his mom. She hesitated and put her hand on his forehead.

"You feel a bit warm. Maybe it would be best if you stayed home today. You might be coming down with something."

'So you still have a mother here. She seems alright. Better than Kushina, anyway.’

‘Kushina?” he thought out loud.

‘Your last mother, I guess. She died not long after you were born. She kept me crucified to some stone construct in her seal, so I might not be the best person to ask.’ The being grumbled. ‘Also, your mom is talking to you. Pay attention.’

“Huh?”

“You are definitely staying home.” Mom muttered. “Stay here, I’ll call the school.”

Izuku sighed and fell back down on his bed. Now what?

‘We can talk some more and you can tell me about this world? I’ve been asleep for a long time. I have no idea what the world is like now.’

‘Sure, I can do that. Wait, what’s your name?’ Izuku asked.

‘My name?’ The being said very quietly.

‘Well, yeah, I have to call you something, right?’ Izuku thought. ‘I forgot to ask before, but I was quite distracted. My apologies.’

It was silent for a little bit. Just long enough for Izuku to start worrying if he had crossed some sort of line. Ready to start apologizing, the being before him replied.

'Kurama. My name is Kurama.'

'Kurama… that's a nice name. It's nice to meet you... I think?' Izuku said, feeling relieved.

Kurama chuckled.

'Don't strain yourself.'

'No, it's not... Bad, per se. I just... am very unsure about what is going on.

'So, what did you have in mind?'

'Huh?'

'Well, what happens next?'

'No idea. What do you usually do in your life?'

'I go to school?'

'Still? Aren't you a bit old to still be in the Academy? I mean, you weren't the best student last time around, but this is... ' the voice sounded doubtful.

'Academy? '

‘To train and be a ninja?'

'A ninja?' Izuku asked curious.

‘Well, yes? '

'I didn't know there were still ninja around. We learned about them in history class but they were around quite a while ago. Was I... a ninja? Before? '

'Really? Huh, the world must have changed since I was last around.' Kurama mused. 'I'll have to get up to date later on. And sure, I can tell you a bit. Get comfortable.'

Izuku nestled himself back into his cushions and closed his eyes with a sigh.

Mom would be by later on, but she could wake him again when she did.

He was still very tired and he really wanted to hear what Kurama had to say.

He still wasn't sure he believed the being he somehow met while unconscious, and who he could talk to while awake by some telepathic means.

He still wasn't sure what that meant though.

He fell asleep very easily and before he realised it he was back in the sewer before the giant gate.

"What is this place anyway? And how do I keep getting here?" Izuku asked when the giant eyes opened.

“This gate is the seal that connects us. While you may not physically be bound to me anymore, this seal is exactly the same as before, only spiritually. This place is called your mind-scape and it is the place for us to meet."

"My mind is a sewer? " Izuku asked feeling worried and a bit disgusted as he looked around.

"It only looks like that. It is not an actual sewer." Kurama frowned at him." And how this looks is entirely up to you. "

So, did that mean he could change this? Make into not a sewer but a more pleasant place? Maybe he should look into some mediation. Or some other spiritual route? He couldn't imagine the solution be physical labour in here (however that would work in a spiritual place?).

"Huh." Izuku made a thinking noise. "How do you want to do this though? Because something tells me you have a very long story to tell and I don't feel like staying standing for most of it. And no matter how non-wet the water is, sitting in it for who knows how long isn't attractive either."

Izuku grimaced. Yeah, that so wasn't happening.

"Suck it up. I have had to spend who knows how many decades in this place. You'll survive a nap or two."

“Is it just as non-wet in there with you? " Izuku asked, fidgeting a bit.

The eyes blinked at him and studied him with disbelief.

"You want to get in here and... What? Cuddle?" Kurama asked full of disbelief.

Izuku flushed. "No! N-no of c-course not! But w-well... Maybe? You s-said to get c-comfortable."

"Unbelievable." Kurama sighed, signalling how done he was, but a bit amused at the same time if his slight smile was any indication.

Whatever Kurama was, he had apparently been crouching down, because the eyes moved up a lot higher as he somewhat got up. Had he been laying down? The difference seemed too big to go from sitting to standing. Laying down to standing up then?

And just how big was Kurama? Izuku had to strain his neck to keep him in sight, so high up.

He couldn't be simply human, could he? He hadn't heard of other being that could talk and think like humans could, but that weren't human themselves, except when they were part of a quirk.

"Fine, but only this once, got it?" Kurama grumbled.

Izuku shakily smiled as he carefully stepped forward, giving the other the time to change his mind.

He hesitated at the gate, but the bars were so far apart he could step through without trouble.

So he did.

Only to stop and stare in awe as he finally saw what Kurama was.

He was like nothing he had ever seen before. Definitely animal like, with orange fur all over his body. He had a fox like head, with ears that were almost bunny like. Those teeth weren't bunny-like at all though. He had human -like hands instead of paws, and something seemed a bit strange about his proportions? He looked more human trying to act like an animal, than a real animal.

Was he even an animal?

The most amazing part of him were the many tails that swished behind him. Izuku watched them move with amazement. It took him a few tries to count them. Nine.

A Kitsune?

"Done staring yet?" Kurama grumbled moodily, and maybe a bit defensively?

"You look amazing!" Izuku breathed through his awe, trying very hard not to fanboy like crazy and creep Kurama out.

The fox twitched and looked at him with narrowed eyes, as if to see how honest he was being.

"Let's get this over with already."

Kurama laid back down, and he looked even more human in doing so. Izuku had laid exactly the same was in the sofa last week, trying to take a nap.

Izuku hesitated only briefly before approaching again when Kurama shot him another stern look. He carefully climbed up the fox's arms and laid down in the crook of his elbow.

This was nice.

"What to tell? There is so much to choose from." Kurama thought out loud before starting.

Izuku spent the rest of the day either napping and talking in what turned out to be his mind-scape or talking telepathically to the being in his mind.

The stories Kurama had to tell we're just so interesting! He couldn't wait to write them down.

Apparently, Izuku had been a ninja in his past life. He wanted to know more. Kurama only told him some general things. Like how ninja graduated school at age eleven and then went on to some strange apprenticeship with a teacher and two other students. Still learning, but already doing missions. It reminded him a bit of how hero students would do work studies with hero agencies. It was the same principle, sort of.

He wanted to write it down or maybe even draw it out? It could be something fun to do in his free time. Mom would certainly like this a lot more than his habit to search out hero fights.

His mind didn't end up getting a lot of sleep that day (though he did end up falling asleep cuddled with Kurama at some point. Both had been mortified when they woke up), but his body felt better afterwards.

Mom came and brought him some meals, and before he knew it, it was time to go to school again.

Izuku got up extra early that morning to get some research done before going to school.

He got a new notebook out and opened his laptop to search on the web.

It didn't take long before he had some webpages open and started taking notes. The mythology concerning Kitsune was quite interesting actually. The more tails they had, the more powerful and the older they were. One tail per hundred years, and nine was the most they supposedly could have. How old did that make Kurama? How powerful?

He had filled seven complete pages already (both sides) when he felt the Kitsune stir in his mind.

That was a strange feeling but he quite liked it.

It would take some getting used to though. He was so used to being alone all the time and now he would never be again.

A bit discomforting, but seeing as he thought he'd spent his whole life alone, this was definitely better.

He liked that.

'What are you doing?' Kurama asked grumpily, still half asleep.

'Information gathering. I am a bit curious to what you can do. You said we fought together, in the past. And something did happen with the slime villain as you woke up and I blacked out. I was just curious...'

He could feel Kurama's bemusement.

'Why? I mean, of course I am powerful, but this society seems fine. There is no need for you to... Wait, this is you I am talking about. You want to fight, right?' Kurama ended ruefully.

'I have always wanted to be a hero.' Izuku admitted easily. This wasn't a secret. 'I don't have a quirk though. A superpower.' He explained at seeing the kitsune's look.

'And you want to use my power to do it? '

'Well, only if you agreed, of course, but yes, I was sort of hoping for it.'

'Hmmm, that doesn't explain why you are looking up Kitsune though? '

'Aren't you a Kitsune? The most powerful ones have nine tails, so I thought...'

Kurama busted out laughing.

Izuku flushed and shut his laptop down with a snap before burying his head in his arms.

'Despite what I look like, I am not a Kitsune. I am the nine-tailed demon fox. I have eight siblings if you want to call them that, and none of them are foxes.'

'Wait, they're not?'

'No, we were once one being, before we were pulled apart by the sage.'

Izuku could feel Kurama shrug in his mind which was kind of weird.

Anyway.

'You were once one being? How does that work?'

"Izuku honey, what are you doing? You'll be late for school." Mom called from the kitchen.

Izuku looked at the clock, surprised by how late it was already.

'I'll tell you the story later. You need to get going.'

Right.

He quickly grabbed his book bag and ran out of the house.

Which, urgh... He was not looking forward to going to school.

Last he had been there Kacchan had told him to jump off the roof. That could make things awkward.

Or, it would be just the same as always.

Kacchan never acted as if something had changed. It probably hadn't for him.

'Wait, let' s see if I got this right? This guy has been bullying you for years, has told you flat out to kill yourself and you still see him as a friend? ' Kurama asked, completely not getting how awesome Kacchan was.

'No! Someone who wants you dead is not your friend. That demon doesn't deserve such a cutesy nickname. And I do not use that word lightly, being a demon myself.' Kurama said again, clearly not agreeing.

'Kacchan will be an amazing hero one day.'

'No he won't. I've seen a true hero, kit. Someone who selfishly fought for millions of people, not knowing most of them, just fighting because he could help. That guy is fighting just because he can. He is clearly not interesting in helping others. He wouldn't have told you to kill yourself if he even cared a little about you.'

Izuku's breath hitched and tears gathered in his eyes as the harsh truth was laid out for him.

‘Better toface it now, than later on. You spent one lifetime chasing after someone who didn’t want you there. It’s ugly, time consuming, and you deserve better.’

They got interrupted as his teacher came into the room to start class.

School was boring that day. Again.

So Kurama kept him entertained by telling him nice stories, though he had trouble believing the moon had been an all-powerful demon and a goddess had been sealed into a tree? Or something? He might ask to hear that story again - he might have missed a few details. The people living on the moon thing had been just as unbelievable.

Seeing who was telling him though made it more believable. Kurama was bigger than most buildings in Musutafu. At least, that was Izuku’s guess. He hadn’t actually seen the fox in the city in real life.

And Kurama was probably quite powerful.

Izuku started making notes of the stories in his notebooks, and here and there he drew a small doodle that went with the story. It was actually quite fun and relaxing, and Kurama gave a running commentary on things he got wrong. It was nice.

He could get used to this.

**TBC.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training + an accident at the mall

Talking to Kurama was... enlightening.

And they talked a lot. During class, during the day, at night (when he was supposed to be sleeping)…

Kurama was around all the time, commenting on his life, and Izuku had never been happier.

The stories Kurama told him were inspiring. Izuku had always loved stories about heroes and their fights, and while ninja were clearly hired to do what they did, Naruto had a view on life that connected very closely to Izuku’s. Doing what was right, helping people, holding the lives of people he held dear above the rules…

Yeah, he could see himself in that. It was moments like this, when he could predict how Naruto in the stories will react, that Izuku could believe they were the same person. Though Naruto was a lot braver than he was.

~~I~~ zuku loved hearing about his ‘past life’, even if the stories stressed him out as well. Don’t get him wrong, he really loved hearing about everything his previous life had been, but… he didn’t remember any of that. So hearing about such an awesome person (a brave hero who stood by his morals and who ended up saving the world) with lots of friends? It was daunting. And if he had a bad day, it made him feel even smaller and more pathetic.

Because if he had been that great in his past life, how could pathetic, quirkless Izuku ever live up to that?

These depressing thoughts didn’t bother him all the time though, only on bad days. On every other day, he saw them as awesome stories he loved and used to think that his life would get better. While Kurama couldn’t tell him a lot about how he/Naruto had grown up, he did get the gist of it. He/Naruto had been alone, hated by almost everyone, and without any friends. He had been weak but, with just a little help from teachers, he had gotten strong, made friends for life and… Well, he had been happy. At least, that was what Izuku had picked up from the stories.

So, looking on the bright side, it could only get better from here, right?

Izuku tried his best to keep Kurama unaware of these worrying thoughts. Mostly because he kept going back and forth in them, like he couldn’t make up his mind. One second he was overflowing with positivity, the next he felt like brooding in a dark space and never coming back out again.

But having Kurama around was nice. He never was alone anymore, and he had someone who didn’t mind listening to his rambling thoughts (It was surprisingly easy to switch to not mumbling out loud anymore, and just doing it in his mind, when there was someone around who commented on them and helped him think further than before. Kurama was very knowledgeable about fights and they had a lot of fun thinking about how some quirks could work in battle.).

The Biju offered a unique perspective on most of Izuku’s thought, like his relationship with Kacchan, which took a lot of getting used to. It took a while, but Izuku was starting to see what Kurama meant when he said that Kaachan wasn’t his friend. Izuku didn’t like it, but it was difficult not to compare his friendship with Kaachan with these Naruto had with his friends, and still think Kaachan liked him.

They also talked about his desire to become a hero because apparently, he hadn’t been treating it seriously?

Izuku had been rambling on and on about a recent hero fight he had seen on television. Analysing hero fights and the quirks used in battle still fascinated him, and now he had someone who was actually interested listening to him.

Kurama had told him about his own power, chakra, and how that had been the power he had always known. The power humans had wielded. How different that was to quirks. Chakra sounded a lot more versatile. Everything seemed possible with it. Quirks were limited, compared to it.

They were both learning.

"So, question for you. You say you want to be a hero, you keep your notes on quirks and stuff as training for that, but I haven't seen you actually work out? Should you not be doing that if you are serious about being a hero?" Kurama asked one night in their shared mind space.

Izuku froze, halfway through his sentence.

He was sitting on one of Kurama’s paws, the fox lying down to look at him while they talked.

“I mean, sure my power could be a nice boost for you, especially seeing as almost everyone seems way to dependant on these special powers of theirs. Still, you won’t be able to fight if you can’t throw a punch, or if you fall on your face exhausted after running like fifty meters.

"I... I do want to be a hero. Helping people." Izuku muttered, thinking hard.

"Hmmm, yes that does not surprise me, but you haven't really been doing anything to make that happen. Yes?" Kurama asked. “Before I woke up, you didn’t have any special powers. You would have been at a serious disadvantage compared to others. And you have been doing nothing to bridge that gap?”

"I... No, I guess not. No matter how much I wanted it, I guess I never really believed it would actually ever be possible. For me to be a hero, I mean." Izuku admitted, softly.

“I don’t know.” Kurama mused out loud. “Being a hero is something that fit you well once. I don’t see why that would change simply because you died and were reborn.”

“Huh?” Izuku blinked in surprise.

“I can see you being a hero. Why not?” Kurama shrugged. “I am convinced you can do anything you set your mind to. You certainly have the guts for it, and you seem less of an idiot than before, so…”

“I am quirkless.” Izuku said again, just to be sure Kurama had heard him the first few times he had said that.

“So you said. But I don’t see what the problem is. If an idiot like Rock Lee can be a shinobi without using chakra, then you sure as hell could be a hero without a quirk.” The fox snorted.

Izuku blinked up at him, as if he had never made that connection even after being told about the boy.

The fox made an inquisitive sound.

"And so you just... didn't really try?"

Izuku bit his lip. "I guess so. I mean, I wrote more notes, analysed quirks, but..."

"That won't really help you in a fight though. Not unless you have the physical ability to back up whatever your mind makes up."

Izuku sighed. "What do you suppose I should do then?"

Kurama grinned at him, widely.

So, training started. Not that either of them really knew what they were doing. Kurama wasn't human. He had never really needed to train his body or his control. He had seen others doing it, but he had no personal experience. Neither had he ever taught anyone.

And Izuku? He had no idea where to start.

"You know any quiet place to train? Somewhere where other people don't come? Once we have a place to start, we'll go from there."

He ended up researching possible training places, and choose Dagoba beach in the end. Running over sand would builds his strength, stabilize his muscles and help with balance and coordination. If the internet was to be believed.

Kurama helped him design a training regimen with the information the internet provided him.

It was hell. Running over loose sand like that was tedious and exhausting. And while yes, the beach was deserted, it was also full of littering and mountains of trash, which made running there a true obstacle course. He got so upset by it (after tripping multiple times on the garbage) that he ended up collecting the trash and throwing it in the conveniently placed container by the road.

It was slow going, because he only did a bit of cleaning every day, but he was starting to see clear spaces here and there.

Beach training happened whenever he had some free time. An hour before school, several hours after school. When training was done, Kurama used his chakra to heal his strained muscles.

“Your body isn’t used to my power. It is quite corrosive and you need to build some resistance to it before you go around actually using it. It would only hurt you if you didn’t.” Kurama had said.

So Izuku hadn’t actually consciously used any of Kurama’s power. He would though. Kurama wanted to fight together once again, and Izuku was very much looking forwards to the day they finally could.

After dinner with his mom, he focused on his homework and studying for the exams. Both the end of the year exams and the written entrance exams for high school (Even if UA was his dream school, he really needed to consider an alternative, just in case he didn’t make it in. UA only accepted the best, and almost every kid in Japan tried to get in. Not only kids who wanted to be heroes either. Even for the support course, general education, and business course , UA was known as the best school to graduate from.).

School became really boring. He tried to avoid his bullies as much as possible, but it was clear his study sessions had put him ahead at school so classes were very boring. He made sure to always bring a notebook to either draw or write in.

Time passed quicker than ever before. He lost track of the days, even showing up at school one day when he didn’t need to be there (the horror!).

While beach training was hard, he was finally starting to feel the effect it had on his body, and the beach was clearing up. He was about halfway through cleaning it when he tripped on some garbage and fell face first into a fridge.

And then fell down the pile of garbage he had been standing on.

That hurt.

Luckily he fell on sand, and not concrete or something.

He got back up, groaning and holding his aching face, and listening to Kurama snickering in his mind (having been woken up by the flash of pain Izuku had felt, probably), when someone grabbed his arm and got him back on his feet in one surprising move.

"Shounen, are you alright?"

Izuku blinked dazedly at the skeletal looking man before him. Gaunt face, dark rings around his eyes, arms that looked like a strong breeze would snap them clean off... This man looked everything but healthy.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” he asked before realising what he just said. He slapped his hand over his mouth and watched the man with wide eyes, readying to start apologizing. That was so rude of him!

The man chuckled, and Izuku swallows his next words before they could leave his mouth.

“I have been told I am quite something to look at.” The man smiled at him. He didn’t look mad. More .. amused?

What?

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.” Izuku apologized anyway.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. But are you alright? You took quite the tumble there.” The man waved his concerns away.

Such a friendly guy.

"Yeah, I am fine. Thanks." Izuku scratching his cheek a bit. He wasn’t used to people (except his mom and Kurama) expressing any concern over him. Let alone a stranger… The man must have seen him while he was walking by the beach.

"Are you cleaning the beach, young man?" The guy asked, looking around with a small smile.

“Yeah, I guess I am? I mean, I just went looking for a place to train, and working out on the sand is a challenge, but it wasn’t easy with all the rubbish around. So I guess I did start cleaning it up, yes. I don’t do a lot. Just a bit every day.”

“Training? Are you working out to be a hero, maybe?” The man eyed him curiously.

Izuku nodded.

The still nameless guy shot him another smile. It was strange, it almost looked like his bright, blue eyes were glowing. “You are already acting very hero-like then.”

“What do you mean?” Izuku didn’t follow that thought.

“Heroes are all about the spotlight these days but the very first heroes didn’t do what they did for the recognition, the fame, or even the pay-out. They helped people, in any way they could or wanted. From saving their lives to simple community work. Like you are doing. It’s nice to see the newest generation is going back to those roots.”

Izuku blinked, and then flushed a bit. “Huh, I guess I didn’t consider that.”

The man’s smile widened.

“Are you trying to get into hero school? High school exams start soon.”

“Yes, I want to be prepared.” Izuku smiled, or grimaced, because he had a faint suspicion that no matter how much he prepared, he would never feel like he was ready to take the exams.

“Maybe I can give you some tips? I know quite a few people in the industry.” The man kept on smiling at him.

“Um, sure? If you are sure it isn’t any trouble?” Izuku’s heart soared. Someone who actually knew what they were talking about wanted to help him?

‘Hey!’ Kurama cried out indignantly in his mind.

“Of course, my boy.”

Izuku smiled brightly.

Yagi-san, for that was his name Izuku learned later, had indeed quite a few tips to give. Even Kurama had to admit he seemed to know what he was saying, which was high praise.

Indeed, looking into some martial arts training was a good idea. It made him feel stupid not having thought about that himself before. Building up muscles was all good and well, but having a fighting style to fall back on could only help as well.

‘Meh, I’ve never needed it,’ Was Kurama’s very intelligent reply to his thoughts, ‘but I can see how you would benefit from it.’

Yagi-san ended up talking with him for a long while, and Izuku honestly enjoyed it. It had felt so long since he had had a normal conversation with anyone not his mom or Kurama (though the latter could hardly be called normal, no matter how one looked at it).

Getting home afterwards, he immediately got his drawing supplies out, and sat down at the coffee table in the living room. The television was playing something, but he didn’t pay it any attention.

He grabbed a pencil and drew, trying to remember the man from before. Something about him wouldn’t leave Izuku alone. He’d never seen anyone like that. Looking like that.

'I haven't seen you draw anyone from your new life before now.' Kurama commented. 'What makes this guy special?'

'I don't know. There is something about that man.' He mused as his pencil traced the man's jawline.

'You're worried about him?'

'I guess so. I mean, he looked really unhealthy. Do you think he's sick?'

'Dying. No, honestly I don't know. But given what he looks like, it might be more likely he got hurt a long time ago? ' Kurama thought out loud.

Which was funny when you thought about it, because all they did was think out loud to each other.

‘Neh, Kurama?’ Izuku asked suddenly.

‘Hmm?’

‘Your power can heal me. Can it also heal others?’

'I don't know. We used it before, in the form of a Chakra cloak to protect and heal people, but that was only for immediate damage taken on the battle field. I have no idea how my power would react to such old wounds. Once the human body accepts certain wounds as the new normal...' Kurama admitted.

‘Is there any way to find out?’

‘Well, I don’t recommend testing this out by yourself, but maybe if someone medically trained is willing to help out? Know anyone like that? Preferably someone who won’t ask to many questions?’

‘I’ll have to tell people something at some point. About these powers of yours, I mean.’

‘Do you really?’ Kurama asked wryly.

‘Probably. I mean, if I want to get into hero school, healing like that will be… Well, people will notice. Right? Healing at that rate is not normal in any way you look at it.’

Kurama hummed thoughtfully. ‘I suppose so.’

“It might also be easier to get in if I have a registered quirk. While supposedly not impossible, no quirkless person has ever made it to UA. Not even in the general course.” He said out loud.

“Izuku? Did you say something?” Mom yelled from the kitchen.

“No mom, just talking to myself!” He winced.

Kurama snickered. ‘Busted.’

‘Shut it!’ Izuku flushed.

‘You’ll get used to it.’ The fox was way too amused by this.

It wasn’t funny, really. Izuku shouldn’t just talk to himself. If he kept this up, people would think he’d gone mad! Or madder, because he used to mutter to himself all the time…

Maybe it would be alright. They were used to worse from him, after all.

‘I sure hope so.’

“Alright.” Mom yelled back. “We’ll be eating in about ten minutes, so be sure to wash up dear!”

“I will!”

Yagi-san ended up joining him a few times a week at the beach, just to watch him work and offer some tips. It was nice.

Though Izuku worried a bit more every time he saw the man. Coughing up blood like that could not be healthy. At all.

He’d need to look into that.

\--

He tried to draw out Kakashi in class one day, his sensei in another life, with Kurama whispering helpful details about the man in his ear. It was fun, and it helped put a face to the name he had heard multiple times. He would have to keep practicing though because his drawing was far from good according to Kurama, nor was it accurate.

"No, no! The man had a bone structure on his face many would die for! But he hid it all the time under a face mask, so you can't actually see that! Only some vague outlines were visible." Kurama commented.

He liked Kakashi. The man sounded like a hoot, even if he was an awkward teacher, or so he heard. The man was a genius and clearly too good to be comfortable teaching kids. Or that is what he deducted from Kurama’s tales.

Maybe he should try drawing in another style. Stop trying to make it look really lifelike. Some manga style drawing maybe ?

He hummed to himself as he turned a page in his notebook and started fresh.

"Would you shut up, you nerd?!" Kacchan whispered aggressively in the seat before him.

Oops? Had he been muttering out loud again? No wonder Kacchan was annoyed at him.

‘Why do you insist on calling him by that affectionate name?’ Kurama grumbled in his mind.

Izuku flinched. They had talked about this, a lot and, while he was starting to see what Kurama was talking about (comparing his situation to stuff Naruto had going through made it somewhat easier to see that yes, he was being bullied by his supposedly best friend), that didn’t mean it was easy to break old habits. Kacchan- Bakugo would become an amazing hero, and it was difficult to adjust his view on his friend. Even if he knew, inelegantly, that Bakugo wasn’t his friend. Hadn’t been for a long time now.

‘So, you still going to the shop after school?’ Kurama distracted him from his spiralling thoughts.

‘Yeah.’ He thought to his friend. And yes, he did think he could consider Kurama a friend. A decent one. While the demon was sassy, brash and sarcastic at times, he was nice-ish to talk to and helped him out a lot.

Kurama didn’t call him stupid, he listened to Izuku and even insisted he take some time off to relax every now and again, which Izuku thought was a complete waste of time. He didn’t need time off training, not with Kurama healing all possible damage to his muscles. He didn’t need rest for his body to catch up, but he ended up listening.

He drew a lot. In his free time, that is. Kurama insisted on him taking some breaks, between training and schoolwork, and Izuku found he couldn't protest. He was exhausted, even with Kurama's healing helping out after training.

Surprising himself, he ended up drawing. Drawing wasn't something that had ever really stood out to him. He did it to add some drawings of hero costumes to his notes, but other than that? Nope.

Now he was finding some new appreciation for it. He looked up some tutorials on the internet, some tips to help him draw better, and found he quite enjoyed it.

The school day dragged on, and once the final bell rang, Izuku sprinted out of the classroom. To make up for missing training time by going to the shops, he ran towards the mall instead of taking the public transport. It might take a bit longer, but he preferred the exercise. His training was going... Well it was going somewhere. He felt stronger. Just a bit. And he had only started training two weeks ago. So, not bad? He made it to the mall without collapsing, and he only felt a bit winded and out of breath. It was progress, right?

Kurama was snoring away in his mind. The huge fox sure took a lot of naps.

Before long, Izuku was at the mall browsing through the shelves of a sports shop.

Kurama had suggested some sort of weights, to wear while he was working out, and Izuku had done some research. Weights could indeed help him out, but he would need to start small. Adding to them in time, as he grew stronger, but it would help him get stronger quicker.

He only had limited time until the entrance exams.

He found some weights that could be worn on his legs and there were extra weights that could be added to it over time. The total weight wasn't too high, but it could be good to start out with?

He grabbed the product and made his way to the till to ask the vendor about them. They were a bit expensive and his pocket money was limited. Paying for it would be no trouble, but he wanted to be sure he didn't waste his money and that this was what he needed.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak to the teenager behind the counter of the shop, there was a loud explosion. The ground fell from under his feet and the entire building exploded around him. He fell, screaming, not sure what was happening.

He came to with a gasp, pain radiating through him.

It was the pain that woke him again. He might have been screaming, he might not have made any sound at all.

His stomach was killing him though. His whole body hurt, as if he was one big bruise, but mostly his stomach. He grabbed at it, but something was in the way. Something... hard, made of metal maybe?

Opening his eyes was hard, and when he managed he noticed it was for nothing. Either something was wrong with his eyes (he wasn't blind... was he?!), or he was laying in complete darkness. And yes he was laying, and something was wrong with his stomach! His hands were sticky and wet and his breathing was laboured. It actually hurt to draw breath and he vaguely realised he was panicking and in a lot of pain.

‘Kit?!’ Kurama roared.

Izuku flinched in shock at the loud voice and then flinched from the new pain.

‘Kit, stay with me!’ The demon yelled again. ‘You are hurt very badly, and you need to take that piece of metal out before I can start healing it. You are losing too much blood!’

Metal ?

Take it out?

...

It took him a second to realise what that meant. Then panic really set in. It became even harder to focus, his hands were shaking and yes, the hard obstruction by his stomach was metal. A big metal pole that... Oh, god pierced his skin and... was it pinning him to the ground?!! (or whatever he was laying on. Some debris maybe? There had been an explosion...)

Oh god...

‘Stop panicking!’

Yeah, like that was going to help!

He grabbed the pole, his wet and slippery hands making it difficult to get a good grip on the round pole that was… Sticking out of his stomach? Damn that was disgusting and very disturbing.

Tears streamed over his cheeks and he sobbed.

“Alright. Nice and steady.” He muttered to himself between sobs. He tried pulling at it, and while it did move a little, all it really accomplished was new crippling pain coursing through him.

He released the pole in reaction to the pain, not able to keep his body from spasming which hurt even more, as it pulled his body from and to the pole.

Damn, this was bad.

‘Focus, kit! They are calling for you! You need to answer!’ Kurama yelled, making Izuku aware of something beside the pain.

What?

Someone was yelling?

"Is anyone down there?!"

Huh, so they were yelling.

Izuku tried to form words, but he wasn't sure he succeeded. His ears were still ringing. Something red flared harshly and he had to shut his eyes quickly not to be blinded. Then, the pain hit. Like a shockwave, it hit his entire body and Izuku might have cried out.

There was more frantic noise but he wasn't really aware of any of it. He was still clutching at the broken pole when hands touched him and he flinched back.

There was a soothing voice in the air, but he didn't have any strength anymore to open his eyes and look.

He felt drowsy, almost as if on the edge of falling asleep.

He lost consciousness.

**TBC.**

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think? ^^


End file.
